Andy Burnham’s decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election has placed him firmly on course for Downing Street, and the property industry is already gaming out what a Burnham premiership could look like. For homeowners in Norfolk and Suffolk, the implications are worth paying attention to.
Burnham isn’t an unknown quantity on housing. As Mayor of Greater Manchester, he oversaw billions of pounds in regeneration and infrastructure investment, turning the city region into one of Britain’s strongest-performing property markets. Manchester’s house prices have risen 63% over the past decade, according to Rightmove, compared to London’s 7%.
That’s a striking gap, and it tells a story about where growth has been heading.
The centrepiece of Burnham’s housing philosophy is a simple idea: infrastructure unlocks homes. He has consistently argued that transport investment, regeneration funding and planning reform should work together, rather than in silos. In Manchester, this approach produced tangible results through projects like Victoria North and Mayfield, both of which delivered substantial numbers of new homes off the back of wider regeneration schemes.
His recent pledge to reinstate the Manchester leg of HS2 underlines the point. Burnham sees connectivity as the precondition for viable housing development, not an afterthought.
For the eastern counties, where transport links have long been a constraint on growth, this philosophy could prove significant. Norfolk and Suffolk have argued for years that improved rail connections and road infrastructure would unlock development potential. A Prime Minister who sees housing and transport as two sides of the same coin might be more receptive to those arguments than his predecessors.
Burnham is a committed devolutionist. He has repeatedly called for city regions to have greater control over housing delivery, planning decisions, social housing construction and regeneration budgets. His track record in Manchester shows this isn’t just rhetoric: the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has used its devolved powers to shape housing policy in ways that Westminster wouldn’t have prioritised.
What this means for counties like Norfolk and Suffolk depends on how far devolution extends beyond the major city regions. East Anglia’s housing challenges are different from Manchester’s: an ageing population, a shortage of affordable rural housing, seasonal demand pressures in coastal areas. Local control over planning and housing budgets could allow councils to address these specific pressures more effectively.
The property market data across Norfolk’s 300-plus locations consistently shows how varied the market is from one town to the next. A one-size-fits-all approach from Westminster has never served this region particularly well.
Perhaps the most radical policy signal is Burnham’s interest in replacing Council Tax and Stamp Duty with a Land Value Tax. This would represent the most fundamental change to property taxation in a generation.
A Land Value Tax charges owners based on the underlying value of their land, not the property sitting on it. Proponents argue it’s fairer, harder to avoid and encourages productive use of land. Critics warn it could create sudden tax increases for homeowners sitting on valuable plots, particularly in areas where land values have risen sharply.
In Norfolk, where agricultural land, coastal plots and village settings vary enormously in value, a period property in Holt sitting on a modest plot might fare very differently from a farmhouse on several acres near Burnham Market.
Stamp Duty’s abolition, though, would be broadly welcomed. The tax is widely regarded as a drag on transactions, discouraging people from moving and gumming up the market. Its removal could boost activity across the board.
Burnham’s record on the private rented sector is mixed, at least from landlords’ perspective. During his mayoralty, he increased landlord fines by 43% and controversially called for rent controls. At the same time, he backed grants of up to £30,000 to help landlords improve energy efficiency and supported Manchester’s Good Landlord Charter.
This carrot-and-stick approach suggests a Burnham government wouldn’t simply demonise landlords, but nor would it leave the sector to self-regulate. For Norfolk and Suffolk, where the rental market plays a critical role in housing provision (particularly in university cities like Norwich and market towns with limited affordable stock), the balance he strikes will matter.
Rent controls, if introduced, would be the most disruptive change. The evidence from other markets suggests they can reduce supply if poorly designed. Burnham hasn’t detailed what form any controls might take, and there’s a considerable gap between campaign rhetoric and legislative reality.
On leasehold, Burnham has backed plans to end the sale of new leasehold homes and strengthen protections for existing leaseholders. This continues a cross-party direction of travel that’s been building for years. For buyers and sellers of leasehold properties in Norfolk’s growing new-build developments, further reform would provide greater certainty and, in many cases, reduce the costs and complexity of transactions.
Reaction from the property industry has been cautiously optimistic. Verona Frankish, Chief Executive of Yopa, highlighted the potential for regional growth: “Greater investment in infrastructure and local economies outside London could provide a substantial boost to housing markets in major regional cities, supporting both demand and development activity.”
She struck a note of realism too, pointing out that “interest rates, wage growth, economic confidence, and the availability of homes all play a far bigger role in determining property values and market activity” than any single political leader.
David Alexander, Group Executive Director of LRG, cut through the politics: “The country does not need political slogans; it needs practical leadership that delivers results. If we can increase housing supply, remove barriers to moving and restore confidence, the benefits will be felt across the entire economy.”
Burnham isn’t Prime Minister yet. A leadership contest could still produce surprises, and a prolonged battle would bring its own uncertainty. Markets don’t like uncertainty, and property markets are no exception.
But the direction of travel is clear enough to be worth tracking. The key questions for property owners in this region are straightforward: will devolution reach East Anglia in a meaningful way? How would a Land Value Tax affect different types of property? And can the infrastructure-first approach that worked in Manchester translate to a region with fundamentally different challenges?
The answers won’t come quickly. But they will come, and they’ll shape the market for years to come.
